Friday

WESTBOROUGH – State transportation officials have come up with three designs to reconfigure the Interstate-90/495 interchange to ease traffic, but cautioned those plans are preliminary.

The heavily traveled junction is the site of daily backups – many of which spill out onto the two highways and the nearby interchange of I-495 and Rte. 9. More than 450 crashes - including two fatalities - occurred there between 2011 and 2015. Approximately 75,000 vehicles pass through each day.

“I think the answer would be unanimous,” Ryan McNeil, design project manager, said after asking the public at an informational meeting if they have been struck in traffic or been involved in a crash there.

The designs state transportation leaders crafted create more direct connections between the two highways, reduce weaving in the area of the former toll plaza – where significant daily congestion occurs – and add and lengthen acceleration lanes.

“By doing that you reduce the possibility of congestion,” said McNeil.

Reconfiguring the troublesome interchange for the first time since the 1960s will boost safety, improve traffic flow at the junction and surrounding routes – including the interchange of I-495 and Rte. 9 – and be a boon for economic development.

Several important developments going up nearby are primed for new businesses.

Jessica Strunkin, deputy director of the 495/MetroWest Partnership, said undeveloped property around the junction will be more attractive to prospective corporations and their employees if there are fewer traffic backups.

“It’s time to address it,” said Strunkin. “Transportation rises to the top. If you’re addressing the congestion at (Interstates) 495-90 that helps attract business to the region. There’s room for growth still.”

Safety problems are a result of design and operational deficiencies - including ramp configuration - which are addressed in the plans.

One option calls for building a one-lane flyover ramp connecting vehicles traveling westbound on the Mass Pike to I-495 south. That plan includes creating a two-lane ramp linking I-495 northbound to the Mass Pike eastbound.

A second alternative features a one-lane elevated ramp from I-495 north that will cross over the existing CSX/MBTA commuter rail line and connect to the the Mass Pike westbound as a right-side acceleration lane before merging onto the highway.

The third choice would feature three new direct links. A one-lane ramp would connect the Mass Pike east to I-495 north and another would tie I-495 south to the Mass Pike west. The final ramp from I-495 north would cross the existing CSX/MBTA commuter rail line and link to the westbound side of the Mass Pike.

“Whatever you guys are going to do is an improvement,” said Upton’s Jim Bates Jr., who travels on I-495 daily.

Commuters offering feedback on the project website said ramps need to be widened. They described merging as extremely dangerous because of the volume of tractor-trailers. About half the 18-wheelers entering the eastern part of the state use the interchange.

Transportation leaders will continue to alter the designs and search for other solutions. A preferred option is likely to be selected sometime in the late spring and be refined. A design hearing is expected to be held in 2019.

The project is expected to cost about $260 million. The state has allocated about $130 million toward the project as part of the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). More funds are expected to be added in future years.

“The region and Commonwealth are committed to this project if they’re willing to put $130 million into the STIP,” said McNeil.

More informational meetings will be held in the late winter and early spring. Residents and commuters can provide feedback by visiting www.wikimapping.com/wikimap/I495I90 or www.mass.gov/massdot/495-90interchange.

Jeff Malachowski can be reached at 508-490-7466 or jmalachowski@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JmalachowskiMW.

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